LAILAH
TWENTY-THREE
Brayden left me to go unpack in his own room and let me settle in once Martin had brought up my suitcase and travel bag.
There was just enough room in the closet for the few dresses and the winter coats that I had.
Everything else went into the dresser. Thankfully, I had talked Cami out of making me pack even more than she already had.
It seemed everyone on this floor shared one bathroom that was in the middle of the hall.
Wandering down the hall, I entered the bathroom with my toiletries and washed my face.
There was something about traveling that always made me feel like I needed to wash up after.
There was no shower, just a large claw-foot tub with a handheld shower attachment to the faucet.
Shelves lined the wall, holding different colored towels and everyone else’s bathroom items in baskets.
I smiled as I found one with my name pinned to it, along with some cream towels.
It seemed that Brayden’s family had gone the extra mile to make sure I felt welcome.
After cleaning up, I went back to my room, flopped on the bed, and texted Cami.
Lailah:
Made it to Brayden’s. It’s so cute and his sisters are adorable, especially Hope.
Cami:
Hope is the best! Glad you made it alright, make sure to send me a lot of pictures!
Lailah:
You got it! TTYL
Turning so I was looking out the window from my bed, I saw it had started to snow. Flurries danced in the wind, making it look so inviting. The soft dusting on the roofs in my line of sight seemed to add something magical to the world. I couldn’t have been in a more picturesque place for Christmas.
My bedroom door crashed open, and Hope came running in and jumped on my bed excitedly. “Daddy’s home! He never comes home so early in the day; he’s even going to have dinner with us!”
“That is very exciting, I can’t wait to meet your dad,” I said, grabbing her before she rolled off the bed. “Is your mother going to be at dinner too?”
Hope paused and frowned at the mention of her mother. “I don’t know, Mommy’s sick, she keeps forgetting things and hurting herself by accident. Ms. Tabitha tells me that Mommy will get better if she keeps taking her medicine, but I tried it once, and it tastes gross.”
“I’m sorry to hear your mom isn’t feeling well. Who is Ms. Tabitha?” I asked. I already knew her mom wasn’t doing well from what Kayley had told us.
Hope picked at some of the beads on her dress, pouting a little before she answered me. “Ms. Tabitha is our governess, but I don’t like her, but I’m not allowed to say that, so don’t tell Charlie that I told you.”
“I promise, cross my heart,” I said, making an X over my heart. “Why don’t you like her?”
“She’s scary, one time I caught her putting funny-smelling stuff in Mom’s tea, and I asked her what it was.
Ms. Tabitha told me it was medicine, but it didn’t come out of a pill bottle like the other stuff Mommy takes.
I tried to tell Daddy, but he just told me I was too little to understand,” Hope said, jutting out her bottom lip.
Unsure of what to say, I poked Hope in the side gently, trying to get her attention. But instead, she fell over, letting out a peal of laughter. Grinning, I sat up and started to tickle her until she was crying and gasping for breath.
“What’s going on here?” Brayden asked, leaning against the door frame, a soft smile on his face.
“Tickle war, but it seems that someone didn’t put up much of a fight,” I teased, freeing Hope to jump off the bed and run to hide behind Brayden.
“It was a sneak attack,” Hope said, hands on her hips like some superhero.
Brayden chuckled, shaking his head. “Lucky for you that it’s dinner time and father wants us all down in the dining room.”
“Yeah,” Hope whooped and tugged on Brayden’s hand to get him moving. “Come on, we don’t want to keep Daddy waiting.”
Slipping off my bed, I followed behind as we made our way back to the first floor.
The dining room was inviting, with a large wooden table that could easily seat twelve people.
Place settings were out and candles already lit, waiting for us to be seated.
Brayden pulled out a chair for me and helped push it back in.
The rest of the family filtered in and took their seats, all of them looking excited, and I didn’t think it was because of me.
Looking around the table, I noticed there was one sibling I hadn’t met yet, Brayden’s younger brother David.
His chocolate hair was shaggy, much like a young Justin Bieber, and his eyes were a soft brown color.
He had on a red and white soccer jersey that I would assume belonged to the Austrian soccer team.
In a house full of girls, this young man was all boy.
He must be thrilled to have Brayden and Micah back in the house.
Then an older gentleman walked in with a beautiful woman on his arm.
The power couple that were Brayden’s parents.
His father was still in his suit from work, adding to his very orderly look.
His dark brown hair was heavily salt and peppered, along with his neatly managed beard.
His glasses had a wooden frame, which seemed to compliment his pale green eyes.
His wife was stunning, even as she was letting her hair grow out to her now silvery-gray color.
It was thick and full, cut in a very trendy just-past-the-chin bob.
She was thin, almost too thin, her skin crinkled slightly as if it was lacking in nutrients.
Her beautiful deep hazel eyes that leaned more towards the blue side seemed to be glassy, like she wasn’t really there with us.
His father walked up to where I was sitting, so I rose, as did Brayden.
“Lailah, it is so lovely to meet you and to have you in our home,” he said, smiling as he reached out to take my hand, then covered it with the other and gripped it tightly.
“Thank you so much for having me. It's very kind of you, Mr. Dolton,” I said, returning his smile.
“Oh, now, none of that. You’re family now that you and Brayden have bonded. Call me Oliver and my wife Adriana. Hopefully, one day, you will feel comfortable enough to call us Mom and Dad as well,” Oliver said, his eyes misting over with emotion.
I slid my hand into Brayden’s, feeling overwhelmed with emotion at how they welcomed me with open arms. “I would like that. Thank you, Oliver.”
“Now let’s get settled and eat the delicious meal that has been prepared for us,” Oliver said, walking Adriana to her seat and getting her settled before taking his place at the head of the table.
Brayden’s mother remained silent through the whole exchange and moved mechanically, as if she were just going through the motions.
I could see why Kayley and Hope thought their mother was not well.
Then, as she took a sip from her wine glass, it was like she snapped out of her fog and realized where she was.
“Oh, honey, you're home in time for dinner, what do we owe the occasion?” Adriana asked as she took the basket of rolls, helping herself and passing it along to Brayden.
“I wouldn’t dream of missing meeting our son’s girlfriend. It’s the first time he’s ever introduced us to someone special, isn’t it, dear?” Oliver said, not even trying to address the fact she’d missed the whole introduction that happened right in front of her.
“Goodness me, how could that have slipped my mind,” she said, peeking past Brayden, surprised to see me sitting there. “It’s so lovely to have you in our home, sweetie. Brayden is one lucky man from what I hear.” She grinned, winking at me before passing the platter of meat but not taking any.
“I have to say, I feel pretty lucky to have a guy like him. You raised your son to be a wonderful man,” I said, resting my hand on Brayden’s leg and leaning against him.
Adriana smiled widely at me. “Oh, now I really like her.”
Oliver smiled and chuckled us as he dug into his food.
Once everyone had filled their plates, we all dove in, not talking much.
I watched, taking in the dynamic of the family, trying to get a feel for what normal was for them.
Charlotte helped Hope by cutting up her food if she was having a tough time with it.
I had the feeling that Charlotte was the real mom here, for the time being.
David and Micah talked quietly about sports and other boy subjects, and a disgruntled Kayley poked at her food.
My guess was that it had something to do with not sitting next to Micah, seeing as I was on his other side.
“Lailah, tell us about your family. Brayden hasn’t been sharing much information with us,” Adriana said, drawing me out of my musings.
“I’m the middle child. I have an older brother, Dylan, who is in school to be a lawyer.
Apparently, getting an MBA wasn’t enough for him, so he needs a second degree.
Kyle is my little brother, he’s a freshman in high school, taking all AP classes and smarter than all of us,” I said, smiling to myself as I thought of my brothers.
“My parents, Luke and Bonnie, own a diner, and it’s the best place to eat in town. ”
“Isn’t that lovely. Did your mother teach you her skills in the kitchen?” Adriana asked.
“That was something we all learned, whether we liked it or not. Each of us has spent the summers working there to make money; there were no handouts if there was a way to earn it,” I said, remembering the early years washing dishes and busing tables.
“I assume that will be what I spend my summer doing until Cami comes to visit.”
“Camilla, how is that dear girl?” Adriana inquired, pushing Brayden out of her way when he leaned in to get more food.
“Cami is Cami, living life on the edge and pushing my boundaries to try new things,” I laughed.
“Seems like she’s bounced back from all that mess of last year. I thought we were going to lose her for good this time,” Oliver interjected.
His statement caught me off guard. What had he meant by that? But he started up again before I could think on it too much.
“Enough of that talk. Brayden, what do you have planned for your time here? Can we still expect you at the shareholders’ Christmas party next Saturday evening?” Oliver asked.
“Of course. I made sure Lailah knew about it so that we would come prepared,” Brayden said, taking the chance to get another helping of potatoes.
“Very good. Micah, will you be attending? You are a shareholder, after all,” Oliver queried.
I turned to look at Micah, my eyes wide in surprise. He, on the other hand, scowled down at his food, gripping his knife tightly.
“Is she going to be there?” Micah bit out.
“Not if you're going. No need to have both of you there,” Oliver said, simply.
This information caused him to relax slightly, so I wasn’t worried he would stab the table again. “Fine, I’ll go, but if she does show up, I’m not to be held at fault for what happens.”
Oliver grunted, nodding his head sharply. “That is fair.”
I had so many questions, but I knew that this was not a subject I could ask about now. Who was this woman that Micah hated so much that he wouldn't share the same space as her?
The rest of the meal was uneventful and filled with trivia about Graz and Austria in general. Adriana and Oliver gave many suggestions on fun places to visit and museums to check out.
“I did come up with my own ideas, you know,” Brayden grumbled.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry, are we butting in too much on this? Forgive your mother, it’s hard to remember you're all grown up and have a wife already,” Adriana said, patting Brayden’s hand.
I froze and looked around the table to see if the others had caught what she said.
It wasn’t the fact that I wanted to keep how serious our relationship was; it was more that I didn’t know what was common knowledge in their family.
Did the younger ones know about the Elementi? What about the Blessed Warriors?
“Darling,” Oliver said, his voice full of caution.
Adriana sucked in a breath and covered her mouth with her hand, her face awash with worry. Taking a moment, she cleared her throat and settled her hands back in her lap. “Right, well, it seems that I am getting tired. I think I’ll turn in for the evening.”
“Martin!” Oliver called.
Seconds later, the man himself was standing at the ready.
“Will you please escort Adriana to her room for the night?” Oliver requested.
Charlotte shot up from her seat, startling me. “I’ll get her ready for bed.”
“Charlotte, sit down. You are not her maid, you are her daughter. If she needs anything, she can call for Ms. Tabitha to help her,” Oliver said, pointing for Charlotte to be seated.
“Dad,” Charlotte started, but one look from her father had her shutting her mouth and sinking into her seat.
“The cook made us a lovely apple strudel, and I would hate for us not to appreciate the hard work that has gone into it,” Oliver said, settling back in his seat.
“I love apple strudel. It’s my favorite, just like you, Daddy!” Hope declared, causing us all to smile at how excited she was.
“My little princess has good taste,” Oliver said, winking at her and making her giggle.
The strudel was amazing and everything that had been promised. Once done with the meal and bringing all the plates to the kitchen, I turned in for the night. Just as I was about to fall asleep, Brayden snuck into my room and cuddled up behind me, burrowing his face into the back of my neck.
“I hope I didn’t offend you by giving you your own room. I didn’t want to assume you would want to share one,” Brayden murmured.
I smiled into the darkness of the room. “No, it’s fine. I think if you had us sharing a room, it would have made me way too nervous. I don’t know that we’re quite there in our relationship just yet, and definitely not starting at your parents’ house.”
Brayden kissed my neck, pulling me even closer to him. “I’m excited for you to be here and with my family, but alone time with you is going to take some work.”
“I’m sure we’ll manage just fine for two weeks,” I teased.